Try these easy crispy baked chicken drumsticks and thighs for a quickly prepared weeknight meal. Just coat the pieces of chicken legs with seasonings and put them in the oven.
I’ve been cleaning out the freezer to make room to stock up on some bacon. So I’m adding to my low carb chicken recipes with another creation.
Since I have a hard time finding no sugar bacon locally, I’ve been ordering it online. Ordering minimally processed bacon online is a lot more expensive, but I find it worth the extra cost. The bacon I buy contains only pork and salt.
Our freezer is usually stocked full of deer meat, but the weather was unusually mild which resulted in a poor hunting season. And, my son has been taking a lot of the meat with him to college to save on his food bill. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the back of our freezer.
At the end of the summer, my husband got a deal on chicken legs so he bought a huge box of them. I found one more package at the back of the freezer that I missed and took them out to make over a busy weekend.
So I created a simple baked chicken recipe to use them up. And the method I used makes the outside nice and crispy.
Ingredients used in the recipe
There really isn’t much to this baked chicken. I used five whole chicken legs that I cut into thighs and drumsticks. Then I dumped them in a large zipper bag to coat each piece with seasonings.
The seasonings I used were a Cajun blend, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, thyme, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, and black pepper.
I find that kosher salt sticks to the meat better than regular salt. But if you don’t have it any regular table salt can be used instead.
How to bake crispy chicken legs
Since I didn’t have a lot of time, I just cut them up and seasoned them to make these crispy baked chicken drumsticks and thighs. I thought about making my low carb shake and bake chicken, but wanted to try out a new spice blend.
As with most of my recipes, it doesn’t take much to cook these crispy oven baked chicken legs. I like to use a big zipper bag to coat the seasoning onto the chicken, but you can just rub the seasoning onto the chicken if you prefer. I just find it easier to use the shake and bake method.
To make the chicken crispy, I bake it at a high temperature (450°F) in the beginning. This crisps up the outside skin. You have to be careful, though, not to burn it. I have a convection oven, and probably had them in a little longer than I should have.
Then I reduce the oven temperature (375°F) until the meat is done. The best way to determine whether the meat is fully cooked is to use a meat thermometer. This also ensures that you don’t overcook the meat which can make it dry.
My oven has a temperature probe, so I put it into a thick piece near the bone. The meat is done when the temperature registers 165°F.
Seasoning the crispy skin baked chicken drumsticks
Baking at a high temperature first and then lowering the temperature to finish cooking is what’s important in this crispy baked chicken drumsticks recipe. It’s not the spice blend. I often add a little bit of this and that when it comes to spices without really measuring things out.
Feel free to adjust the seasoning blend to suit your taste. I love spicy food and the amount of cayenne in the recipe was too much for my husband and son, but not enough for me.
Smoked paprika gives a touch of sweetness as well as a lovely color. I used a cajun spice blend because I had it, but you can replace that with seasonings of your choice.
Recipe for Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Sometimes, I get bored with the same old chicken dish. Don’t you? It’s great to spice things up a bit or change it around. The only chicken dish that my family eats up every time is my Filipino chicken adobo. It’s a classic in our home. My oldest daughter was my pickiest eater and she gave this crispy oven baked chicken legs recipes two thumbs up!
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks & Thighs (Legs)
Ingredients
- 5 whole chicken legs cut into thighs and drumsticks
- 4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Wash chicken pieces and wipe dry with paper towels.
- Combine all spices in a large zipper bag.
- Line two jelly roll pans with foil and place cooling racks on top of each.
- Coat each piece of chicken with spices by shaking in the bag.
- Place each coated piece of chicken on baking rack.
- Bake at 450°F for the first 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 375°F. Bake until skin is crispy, about 30 minutes longer. Meat is done when thermometer reads 165°F near bone.
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Notes
Nutrition
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
About Lisa
Lisa has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and find new ways to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites! Her recipes have been featured on popular magazine sites including Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Women's Health, and Men's Health. Lisa lives in Southeastern Connecticut. Connect with her and Low Carb Yum at:
Len says
These are great. They were a bit spicy so next time I”ll cut back on the cayenne. We think wings done with this spice and cooked less time will make great tailgate food, Thanks for a great recipe and cooking method
Lisa MarcAurele says
Agree! I have to reduce the cayenne when I make these for my husband as he prefers medium or mild.
Ann says
Parchment paper is great but I found a better idea, the silicone mats that are made for BBQ’s are great to line a pan with as well, no sticking and easy clean up 🙂
Lisa says
I love using the silicone baking mats. Super easy cleanup!
EasyRoasted5 says
I’ve tried a lot of crispy baked chicken legs, and with this one I feel like
I finally hit gold! Full chicken taste, beautiful gold colour, perfect salt,
no fussy steps and done in the same amount of time (or less) as other recipes.
How nice easy and tasty. This crispy baked chicken legs was too yummy!
EasyRoast says
Baked Crispy Chicken Legs – A few simple tricks makes this chicken legs crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and ridiculously flavorful. It’s quick, easy, paleo, gluten-free and only requires 10 mins prep.
Marilyn says
I love this idea, and have tried it many times, only to end up with the bottom portion of the “breeding” falling off or worse, sticking to the pan! I use Pam spray, olive oil, to no success. Any ideas?
Lisa says
You could try raising in on a baking rack so it’s not resting completely on the pan.
Pattie says
The 2nd time I made these I used parchment paper to line the bottom of my pan and all the “breading” stayed on.